Recognition

Patient Information

We are happy you have chosen to trust us with your medical care. In order to make your visit to our office as easy as possible, use the links on the left to navigate to patient specific pages.

CALL (360) 977-7815 OR USE THE MAKE AN APPOINTMENT PAGE TO THE LEFT TO SET UP YOUR APPOINTMENT WITH US.

IF YOU ARE A NEW PATIENT (WHAT TO EXPECT ON YOUR FIRST VISIT)

Please arrive for your appointment fifteen (15) minutes prior to the time you are scheduled to see the physician. To expedite your check-in you can download and complete the New Patient packet. Your co-pay (if any) will be collected on check-in and your insurance card(s) and identification card will be scanned into our electronic medical records system. You must have this information to be seen.

Patients need to expect to fill out a history of their medical problems, past surgeries, past pertinent family medical history, along with a list of medications and their dosages. Please bring all prior medical records pertaining to the current injury and any prior x-rays, MRI, or CT scans, if any.

Feel free to bring a list of any questions and concerns you want to ask the physician as we want each patient to feel that they have had everything addressed during their visit.

At the conclusion of your appointment you will be given a form to present to the front desk and your follow up appointment will be scheduled. The front desk at this time will also collect any additional financial responsibility if needed.

Children under the age of 18 will not be seen without a parent or legal guardian on their first visit. If you elect to have another family member or individual accompany the child to future appointments, we must have authorization on file, either completed on site or confirmed via notary public. The form for Non-Parental Authorization can be downloaded from the New Pediatric Paperwork link. Legal guardians must bring a legal consent. Foster parents of children will need to bring court documentation of guardianship, and either have all registration forms filled prior to the appointment and signed by the representative of the Department of Family Services or the representative needs to be present at the appointment with the foster child.

Worker's Compensation/Labor and Industries claims must be brought to the attention of the staff at the time of scheduling. If you have not yet filed your claim, you may file in office. You must provide a secondary form of payment in the event your claim is denied; if claim is denied, the balance of all professional services rendered is payable in full, by you. Worker's compensation claims cannot be billed to a private insurer unless theclaim has been denied, does not exist, or has been closed.

If you are being treated for injuries resulting from a Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA), the claim must be submitted to your Motor Vehicle (PIP) Carrier and cannot be billed to a private insurance plan unless the PIP claim has been denied, coverage does not exist, or private insurance was selected as primary carrier. You are responsible for any deductibles and/or co-payments under your PIP coverage. You also agree, to have a lien placed against any settlement that you may receive due to an MVA Claim for which you are treated by PIP coverage, to pay any open/unpaid balances due to Ankle and Foot Physicians and Surgeons, PLLC or her physicians

ADDITIONALLY, IN ORDER TO ASSIST US IN YOUR CARE PLEASE:

Bring digital format (CD/DVD) or hard copies of films from any prior X-rays, CT scans, or MRIs taken previously with you to your visit.

Bring copies of medical records from any previous medical treatment you have received for this condition. This is especially important if you were seen in the emergency room.

Refills for medications will be processed during office hours only. This policy is in place to not only keep an accurate record of all medications prescribed, but also to stay within state and federal laws and prescribing guidelines. It is therefore important that you contact the office when you have 3 days remaining of a prescription that you wish to have refilled. To request a refill, please call your pharmacist with your prescription number, located on the label. The pharmacy will then contact the office. Please note: requests late in the day or on Fridays will not be handled until the next business day.

No prescriptions will be filled outside normal office hours or after hours, except for emergencies. Lost, stolen, misplaced, destroyed, damaged or forgotten prescriptions are rarely considered to be an emergency. No prescriptions for pain medications (i.e. opioid or narcotic) medications will be filled for patients whose medical conditions are not well known to the physician on call.

If you have any questions or problems regarding your prescriptions, please call our office directly at 360-977-7815.

SURGERY

Our scheduler will set up a surgery date with you and let you know at which facility your procedure is planned. Facility chosen will depend the case type, slot availability and the location the surgeon may or may not have cases already scheduled. You will need to make a separate preoperative history and physical appointment if your surgery is planned more than 30 days from your most recent appointment.

You will receive several calls to verify your information, go over preoperative needs, and perform a preoperative telephone medical history review. You will receive a phone call the day before surgery (in some cases in the evening) to inform you of your arrival time. It is also extremely important that you available by telephone the day before your surgery in event of an emergency or an unexpected scheduling change. If you do not receive a phone call, please call the office or the facility (you will be given their information) before 5pm the day before surgery.

It is important that you obtain your preoperative lab work and obtain any medical or cardiac clearance that your podiatric physician has requested, no later than one week before your surgery. This is to allow ample time for your surgeon to review all of this information. Additionally, we do not want you to get all the way to the operating room and have your surgery cancelled because your surgeon or the anesthesiologist feels that you are not medically stable for the surgery or anesthesia.

Some surgeries require you to donate your own blood. In the event the doctor has discussed this with you at the time of scheduling, you will need to contact the blood bank to make those arrangements.

Depending on your insurance coverage, a deposit may be required and you will be responsible for all balances that your insurance company does not cover as a result of deductibles, coinsurances, copayments or non-covered services. We do contact your insurance company to determine if your procedure requires pre-authorization; please be aware that our physicians are specialists and due to this fact their fees may be higher.

Do not eat of drink anything after midnight the day of your surgery. This includes water, coffee, hard candy, etc. Failure to adhere to this may result in case delay or cancellation.

Arrive to the surgical facility at the directed time and with the required paperwork and identification. Failure to do this may result in case cancellation or delay.

INSURANCE AND BILLING POLICIES

The following is a partial list of plans we currently contracted with; while this list is meant to be accurate, it is subject to change. Please also note, some insurers may not be listed based on the networks utilized by various insurers. Please contact the office at (360) 977-7815 to confirm if our office is currently in-network with your plan. Please bring a current copy of your insurance card to each appointment and remember to notify our staff of any coverage changes.

Aetna

Asuris Northwest

Beech Street/Coventry Network

BlueCross/BlueShield

Cigna

Community Health Plan WA (May require referral)

Coordinated Care

Federal Workman's Compensation/OWCP

FEP BC/BS (Federal Employee Plan)

First Choice Health Network

First Health Network

GreatWest (through Cigna)

GroupHealth

Legacy Health Partners

Lifewise

Medicaid/DSHS (May require referral)

Medicare (Assignment Accepted)

Molina (May require referral)

Oregon L&I (Workman's Comp)

Pacificare

PacificSource

Premera BC/BS

Providence

Providence Preferred Network

Railroad Medicare

Regence BC/BS

Self Pay

TriCare

United Health Care

Washington L&I (Workman's Comp)

Copays and Deductibles are due at the time of service. Please ensure that you have an appropriate method for payment at each visit. We accept cash, checks, and credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express).

Returned checks or non-sufficient funds (NSF) will be assessed a minimum $50 service fee in addition to bank fees. Accounts that remain unpaid are subject to collections assignment.

Bills to insurance companies require each visit be coded with a diagnosis code (ICD) and an evaluation/management code and/or procedure code (CPT). The American Medical Association along with HCFA set up these codes in a manual used to tell the insurer what was performed during your visit. Many of the PROCEDURES and FRACTURE MANAGEMENT performed in our office are actually listed under the 'surgical' section in this manual and may appear on your Explanation of Benefits as 'Surgery'. For some procedures, such as fracture care and/or surgery, the charges are a flat fee followed by a predetermined global period that is established by your insurance company. The global period varies for procedures, fracture care and surgery but in general, casts, splints, x-rays, and durable medical equipment will have a separately billable charge, even during the global period. Also, should you be seen for a new or unrelated problem while in a global period, separate charges will apply.

Your insurance policy is a contract between you and your insurer. Our submission of claims does not take away your responsibility for claims payment. In the event your insurer contacts you for questions about your claim or your injury history, please follow up with them to allow for timely payment. We will be happy to assist you in claim follow up if necessary.

Refunds for overpayment on claims will be processed as soon as possible. If you have an open account or an account balance, credits from one claim may be processed to pay outstanding balances before any refunds are made.

We understand emergencies occur, however,repeated no-shows or cancellations with less than 24 hour notice are subject to a $50 no-show/latecancellation fee; this is not covered by your insurer. Patients who arrive more than 10 minutes late for their appointment may be asked to reschedule.